Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2533 of 17 November 2023 implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for household tumble dryers, amending Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/826, and repealing Commission Regulation (EU) No 932/2012

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

This Regulation shall not apply to:

(a) household washer-dryers and household spin-extractors;

(b) tumble dryers within the scope of Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹);

(c) battery-operated household tumble-dryers that can be connected to the mains through an AC/DC converter purchased separately.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) ‘household tumble dryer’ means an appliance in which textiles are dried by tumbling in a rotating drum through which heated air is passed and which is declared by the manufacturer in the declaration of conformity as complying with Directive 2014/35/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (²) or with Directive 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (³);

(2) ‘mains’ means the electricity supply from the grid of 230 (± 10 %) volts of alternating current at 50 Hz;

(3) ‘gas-fired tumble dryer’ means a household tumble dryer which uses gas to heat the inside air;

(4) ‘built-in household tumble dryer’ means a household tumble dryer that is designed, tested and marketed exclusively to comply with all the following characteristics: (a) to be installed in cabinetry or encased (top and/or bottom, and sides) by panels; (b) to be securely fastened to the sides, top or floor of the cabinetry or panels; (c) to be equipped with an integral factory-finished face or to be fitted with a custom front panel;

(5) ‘household washer-dryer’ means an appliance as defined in Article 2(4) of Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2023 (⁴);

(6) ‘household spin-extractor’ means an appliance in which water is removed from the textiles by centrifugal action in a rotating drum and drained through an automatic pump or by gravity and which is designed to be used principally for non-professional purposes and is also commercially known as ‘spin-dryer’;

(7) ‘multi-drum household tumble dryer’ means a household tumble dryer equipped with more than one drum, whether in separate casings or in the same casing;

(8) ‘equivalent model’ means a model which has the same technical characteristics relevant for the technical information to be provided, but which is placed on the market or put into service by the same manufacturer, importer or authorised representative as another model with a different model identifier;

(9) ‘programme’ means a series of operations that are pre-defined and which are declared by the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative as suitable for drying certain types of textile;

(10) ‘model identifier’ means the code, usually alphanumeric, which distinguishes a specific product model from other models with the same trade mark or the same manufacturer’s, importer’s or authorised representative’s name;

(11) ‘declared values’ means the values provided by the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative for the stated, calculated or measured technical parameters in accordance with Article 4, for the verification of compliance by the Member State authorities;

(12) ‘product database’ means a database as defined in Article 2, point (25) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369;

(13) ‘rated capacity’ means the maximum mass in kilograms, stated by the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative, at 0,5 kg intervals, of dry textiles of a particular type, which can be treated in one drying cycle of a household tumble dryer on the selected programme, when loaded in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions;

(14) ‘eco programme’ means a programme which is able to dry cotton laundry from an initial moisture content of the load of 60 % down to a final moisture content of the load of 0 %;

(15) ‘initial moisture content’ means the amount of moisture contained in the load at the beginning of the drying cycle;

(16) ‘final moisture content’ means the amount of moisture contained in the load at the end of the drying cycle;

(17) ‘drying cycle’ means a complete drying process, as defined by the required programme, consisting of a series of different operations including heating and tumbling.

For the purposes of Annexes II to V, additional definitions set out in Annex I apply.

Article 3

Ecodesign requirements

Article 4

Conformity assessment

Where the information included in the technical documentation for a particular model has been obtained by either of the following means, the technical documentation shall include the details of the calculation, the assessment undertaken by the manufacturer to verify the accuracy of the calculation and, where appropriate, the declaration of identity between the models of different manufacturers:

(a) from a model that has the same technical characteristics relevant for the technical information to be provided but is produced by a different manufacturer; or

(b) by calculation on the basis of design or extrapolation from another model of the same or a different manufacturer, or both.

Article 5

Verification procedure for market surveillance purposes

Member States shall apply the verification procedure set out in Annex IV to this Regulation when performing the market surveillance checks referred to in Article 3(2) of Directive 2009/125/EC.

Article 7

Software updates

Article 8

Indicative benchmarks

The benchmarks for best-performing household tumble dryers available on the market at the time of entry into force of this Regulation are set out in Annex V.

Article 9

Review

The Commission shall review this Regulation in the light of technological progress and shall present the results of that review, including, if appropriate, a draft revision proposal, to the Consultation Forum by 12 December 2029.

The review shall in particular assess:

(a) the improvement potential with regard to energy and environmental performance of household tumble dryers;

(b) developments in consumer behaviour and the feasibility of a mandatory feedback mechanism on the loading of the appliance, the energy consumption and the duration of the selected programme;

(c) the effectiveness of existing requirements on resource efficiency;

(d) the appropriateness of setting additional resource efficiency requirements for products in accordance with the objectives of the circular economy, including the availability of additional spare parts and information on critical raw materials and other environmentally relevant materials;

(e) the appropriateness of setting ecodesign requirements on cabinet dryers;

(f) the appropriateness of setting requirements for reducing the spreading of microplastics.

Article 10

Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2023/826

In point 1 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2023/826:

(a) the entry ‘tumble dryers and other clothes dryers’ is replaced by ‘clothes dryers but excluding household tumble dryers covered by Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2533 (⁵);

(b) the entry ‘other appliances for cooking and other processing of food, preparing beverages, cleaning, and maintenance of clothes, but excluding household dishwashers covered by Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2022, and household washing machines and household washer-dryers covered by Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2023’ is replaced by the following: ‘other appliances for cooking and other processing of food, preparing beverages, cleaning, and maintenance of clothes, but excluding household dishwashers covered by Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2022 (¹), household washing machines and household washer-dryers covered by Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2023 (2) and household tumble dryers covered by Regulation (EU) 2023/2533;

In point 1(b) of Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2023/826:

‘The power consumption of equipment in any condition providing only information or status display, or providing only a combination of reactivation function and information or status display, or providing only a reactivation function and an indication of enabled reactivation function and information or status display shall not exceed 0,80 W.’.

Article 11

Repeal

Regulation (EU) No 932/2012 is repealed.

Article 12

Transitional measures

Until 30 June 2025, by way of derogation from the requirement in point 1.1 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 932/2012, the indication of the standard cotton programme shall not need to be displayed on the programme selection device or display of household tumble dryers where both the following conditions are met:

(a) the standard cotton programme is clearly identifiable in the booklet of instructions referred to in point 1.2 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 932/2012 and in the technical documentation referred to in Article 4(2) of that Regulation;

(b) the eco programme is clearly displayed on the household tumble dryers’s programme selection device or display, in accordance with Section 1, point (b) of Annex II.

Article 13

Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 July 2025.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

ANNEX I

For the purpose of the Annexes II to V, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘air-vented tumble dryer’ means a household tumble dryer that draws in fresh air, passes it over the textiles and vents the resulting moist air into the room or outside;

(2) ‘condenser tumble dryer’ means a household tumble dryer that includes a system, using condensation or any other means, for removing moisture from the air used for the drying process;

(3) ‘heating element tumble dryer’ means a household tumble dryer where the only or main means to heat the air inside is an electric resistance;

(4) ‘heat pump tumble dryer’ means a household tumble dryer where the only or main means to heat the air inside is a heat pump system;

(5) ‘Energy Efficiency Index’ or ‘EEI’ means the ratio of the weighted energy consumption to the standard drying cycle energy consumption of a specific household tumble dryer model;

(6) ‘programme duration’ means the length of time beginning with the initiation of the programme selected, excluding any user programmed delay, until an end of programme indicator is activated and the user has access to the load;

(7) ‘full load’ means the rated capacity of a household tumble dryer for a given programme;

(8) ‘partial load’ means half of the rated capacity of a household tumble dryer for a given programme;

(9) ‘condensation efficiency’ means the ratio between the mass of moisture condensed by a condenser tumble dryer and the mass of moisture removed from the load at the end of a drying cycle;

(10) ‘off mode’ means a condition where the household tumble dryer is connected to the mains power source and is not providing any function, or it is in a condition providing only: (a) an indication of off mode condition; (b) functionalities intended to ensure electromagnetic compatibility under Directive 2014/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (⁶);

(11) ‘standby mode’ means a condition where the household tumble dryer is connected to the mains power source, depends on energy input from the mains power source to work as intended and provides only one or more of the following functions, which may persist for an indefinite time: (a) reactivation function; (b) reactivation function and only an indication of enabled reactivation function; (c) information or status display;

(12) ‘network’ means a communication infrastructure with a topology of links, an architecture, including the physical components, organisational principles, communication procedures and formats (protocols);

(13) ‘wrinkle guard function’ means an operation of the household tumble dryer after completion of a programme to prevent excessive wrinkle building in the laundry;

(14) ‘delay start’ means a condition where the user has selected a specified delay to the beginning or end of the drying cycle of the selected programme;

(15) ‘spare part’ means a separate part that can replace a part with the same or similar function in a product;

(16) ‘professional repairer’ means an operator or undertaking which provides services of repair and professional maintenance of household tumble dryers;

(17) ‘guarantee’ means any undertaking by the dealer or a manufacturer to the consumer to either reimburse the price paid or replace, repair or handle the household tumble dryer in any way if it does not meet the specifications set out in the guarantee statement or in the relevant advertising;

(18) ‘conversion coefficient’ (CC) means the default coefficient for primary energy per kWh electricity referred to in Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council; the value of the conversion coefficient is CC = 1,9;

(19) ‘average final moisture content’ means the average amount of moisture contained in the load at the end of the drying cycles for the eco programme at full and at half load;

(20) ‘reactivation function’ means a function that via a remote switch, a remote control, an internal sensor or timer provides a switch from standby mode to another mode, including active mode, providing additional functions;

(21) ‘information or status display’ means a continuous function providing information or indicating the status of the equipment on a display, including clocks. A simple light indicator is not considered a status display;

(22) ‘active mode’ means a condition in which the equipment is connected to the mains power source and at least one of the main functions has been activated;

(23) ‘main function’ means a function delivering the main service(s) for which the equipment is designed, tested and marketed, and which corresponds to the intended use of the equipment;

(24) ‘commercially available tool’ means a tool that is available for purchase by the general public and is neither a basic tool nor a proprietary tool;

(25) ‘basic tool’ means a screwdriver for slotted heads, a screwdriver for cross recess screws, a screwdriver for hexalobular recess heads, a hexagon socket key, a combination wrench, combination pliers, combination pliers for wire stripping and terminal crimping, half round nose pliers, diagonal cutters, multigrip pliers, locking pliers, a prying lever, tweezers, magnifying glass, a spudger and a pick;

(26) ‘proprietary tool’ means a tool that is not available for purchase by the general public or for which any applicable patents are not available to licence under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.

ANNEX II

1. Programme requirements

Household tumble dryers shall meet the following requirements:

(a) household tumble dryers shall provide an eco programme. The stated rated capacity for the eco programme shall not be lower than the highest stated rated capacity among all the cotton programmes of the household tumble dryer;

(b) the eco programme shall be indicated as ‘eco’ and shall be clearly identifiable on the programme selection, on the display and through the network connection, depending on the functionalities provided by the household tumble dryer;

(c) the name ‘eco ‘shall be used exclusively for the eco programme and may only be complemented with the term ‘cotton’. The formatting of the name is not restricted in terms of font type, font size, case sensitivity or colour. No other programme may have in its name the term ‘eco’;

(d) the eco programme shall be set as the default programme for automatic programme selection or any function maintaining the selection of a programme; or, where there is no automatic programme selection, it shall be available for direct selection without the need for any other selection such as a specific time or load;

(e) the indications ‘normal’, ‘daily’, ‘regular’ and ‘standard’, and their translations in all official languages of the Union, shall not be used in programme names for household tumble dryers, neither alone nor in combination with other information.

2. Energy efficiency requirements

The EEI of household tumble dryers shall not be higher than 85.

The EEI shall be calculated in accordance with Annex III.

3. Condensation efficiency requirements

The condensation efficiency of condenser tumble dryers shall not be lower than 80 %. The condensation efficiency shall be calculated in accordance with Annex III.

4. Low power modes

Household tumble dryers shall meet the following requirements:

(a) they shall have an off-mode or a standby mode or both. The power consumption in off-mode shall not exceed 0,50 W and the power consumption in standby mode shall not exceed 0,50 W; as from 9 May 2027, the power consumption in off-mode shall not exceed 0,3 W;

(b) if the standby mode includes the display of information or status, the power consumption of that mode shall not exceed 1,00 W;

(c) if the standby mode provides for a connection to a network and provides networked standby as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2023/826, the power consumption of this mode shall not exceed 2,00 W;

(d) at the latest 15 minutes after the household tumble dryer has been switched on or after the end of any programme and associated activities, or after interruption of the wrinkle guard function, or after any other interaction with the household tumble dryer, and if no other mode including emergency measures is triggered, the household tumble dryer shall switch automatically to off-mode or to standby mode;

(e) if the household tumble dryer provides for a delay start, the power consumption of this condition, including any standby mode, shall not exceed 4,00 W. The delay start shall not be programmable by the user for more than 24h;

(f) any household tumble dryer that can be connected to a network shall provide the possibility to activate and deactivate the network connection(s). The network connection(s) shall be deactivated by default.

5. Resource efficiency requirements

(1)Availability of spare parts: